


Not So Happily Ever After

by ArtemisTheWriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angry Ginny Weasley, Arguments, Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Cute Kids, Divorced Astoria Greengrass & Draco Malfoy, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue Compliant, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Light Ginny bashing, M/M, Minor Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Multi, On Hiatus, Past Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter Friendship, Single Parent Draco Malfoy, Slow Burn, This might get dark btw just a warning, a real small amout of albus and scorpius, cause they are cute, i keep adding tags i'm sorry, mischievous kids, soon to be divorced harry and ginny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23924134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisTheWriter/pseuds/ArtemisTheWriter
Summary: Ginny thought her life was great. She was married to her school sweetheart, had three beautiful children, she had her dream job of working as a Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. But that all went down when her husband came home one day talking about his new work partner. Will she be able to save her marriage or will her anger cause her to do something she might regret?On hiatus
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 23
Kudos: 151





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and its characters. 
> 
> If this seems similar to another fanfiction I am sorry. I just thought of this idea and felt then need to write it. If I made any mistakes they are all mines. This might not be epilogue correct but I made it this way cause it makes the story flow correctly.

Ginny was on top of the world. Right now, she was nursing a hot cup of tea in between her hands as she watched her two boys play in the backyard with their cousin, Rose. They were chasing Ron around who was screaming for someone to help him from those 'little demons' as he likes to call them at times. Laughing lightly when the kids tackled him, she finally decided to help her frightened brother. Setting her cup of tea down, she headed outside and took a deep breath smiling as the wind fluttered her hair as if it could sense her happiness. 

Walking over to the children's doggie pile, she called out with amusement laced in her tone, "Do you need some help over there, Ron?"

Ron craned his head to the right and glowered at his sister from underneath three surprisingly heavy children. "What do you bloody think, Gin?" As he said that he got hit in the head and let out a yelp. "Who did that?!" yelled out Ron trying to see the culprit. Said culprit looked at her dad and said, "You said a bad word, dad! Mum said, no bad words!"

Grumbling a little about 'bloody wives' and 'can't say the word bloody,' he tried to wiggle his way out of the doggie pile, which just caused all the kids on him to start to protest. Huffing a little he turned his head back to look at his sister who was covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing. He shot her a pleading look which quickly sobered her up a little as she moved closer to finally help her brother. "Alright, you three. Off you go," said Ginny as she picked up Albus sitting him on the ground next to her. 

"But mum!" started James, "We were having fun!" Ginny chuckled and took James off her brother. She watched as her brother sat up and picked Rose up so he could fully stand. Turning to her two boys, Ginny crouched down in front of them and took out her wand to take away the dirt and grass they managed to get on their clothes. Finally, glancing up to look at the boys' faces, she saw they were pouting, which made her smile a little. Standing up and dusting off her clothes, she looked at her brother, who was dusting himself off and chuckled a little. Ron glanced up from his shirt to see his chuckling sister and cocked his head. 

"What's so funny?" he asked. He looked down at himself trying to find what his sister could be laughing at. When he found nothing unusual, except for the dirt on his jeans, he looked back at Ginny with a puzzled expression. That expression just caused Ginny to burst out laughing which caused her kids and niece to look at her like she grew two heads. Albus warily looked at his brother who just shrugged and looked backed at his mom. Green eyes looked at Ginny before cautiously tugging on her thin sweater and asked timidly, "Mum...why, are you laughing?" 

Ginny laughter died down to small chuckles as she looked down at her youngest son. She smiled brightly and said, "I'm just happy, Al. And your uncle happens to have a twig stuck in his hair." When she said that last line she glanced at her brother who hands quickly went up to his hair to feel for the twig. Rose looked up at her father and giggled a little. James and Albus looked at the giggling girl and then at Ron who was frantically touching his hair still trying to find the twig. Once they saw where the twig was they joined their cousin in her fit of giggles. The twig just happened to be sticking out of the front of Ron's hair. How he has yet to find it no one knows, but they found it hilarious. 

Finally frustrated, Ron huffed and let his arms flop uselessly down as he glared at his sister, who was laughing along with the kids. "Will you just tell me where it is?!" said Ron getting tired of being laughed at. Ginny snickered and walked over to Ron and grabbed the twig, pulling out Ron's now wild red hair and showed it to him, still giggling. Ron glared at the twig, like it has him offended before taking it out of Ginny's hand and throwing it into the bushes. Ginny shook her head at her brother's antics before leading them back into the house once the kids stopped laughing. 

Once all of them were in the house, Rose, James, and Albus ran into the living room where Molly was playing with Lily and Hugo and Arthur, who was reading a newspaper. Ginny watched as Albus and Rose went off next to Molly to play with Lily, and James went over to sit next to Arthur, pulling the chess set towards himself. Smiling at the scene, she glanced over at her brother, who was looking at her. Offering her a small, almost sad smile, Ron pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against when James called out to him, asking if he wanted to play chess. Ginny frowned a little at the smile her brother sent her but brushed it off as her imagination. She leaned against the spot her brother just left and looked back out to the living room. This is what Ginny has always dreamed about in her younger years. She is so glad that her dream came true.

Ginny allowed James and Albus to play with their grandparents and cousins a little while longer before calling them over so they could leave. "Aw..do we have to go, mum?" whined James, "I was just about to beat Uncle Ron in chess!"

"No, you weren't!" said Ron, which caused James to let out a huff.

Ginny chuckled and shook her head at her son and brother. Ruffling her son's hair, she said with a smile, "Yes, we do have to go. It's almost dinner, and your dad is coming home today." When she said that, all her kids instantly perked up. "Dad is coming back tonight?" asked Albus, his bright green eyes shining with excitement at seeing his dad again. Harry had to go on a mission in Wales to chase down some wizard who decided he wanted to become the next dark lord. Ron would've gone with him if he hadn't hurt himself last time he went on a mission. He has been stuck at home healing for the past week. Now he was able to walk but he still had a slight limp. Kingsley told him that he couldn't come back until he was fully healed. The only thing that made him agree was Harry telling him that he would be fine going on the mission with someone else. Also, Hermione made sure he didn't leave the house every time she went to work by sending him over to The Burrow with Rose and Hugo so Molly could "babysit" them. 

Harry has been gone for almost a week, and his kids and wife were missing him terribly. Ginny was hoping Harry came home tonight for dinner. Looking back down at her children, she smiled brightly and nodded. The kids whooped and cheered before running over to say goodbye to Ron, Rose, Hugo, Molly, and Arthur before running over to the floo bouncing with excitement. Ginny chuckled at their enthusiasm before saying goodbye to her family and walked over to the floo. "Alright," she started, "James wrap your arms around my waist, hold onto my shirt tightly Albus and Lily, you grip my hand." Once her kids did as instructed, she threw in some floo powder and called out "12 Grimmauld Place!" 

Once they stepped through the floo into their living room, she felt her kids let go of her and ran to the kitchen to set up the table and wash their hands. 'At least they are learning' thought Ginny walking after them. She walked into the kitchen and saw James taking out some silverware while Albus helped Lily wash her hands. Smiling softly, Ginny took out some food and pans along with some spices hoping to cook something fairly good. Of course she could cook but not as well as Harry according to her kids. She rolled her eyes softly, thinking back on the time where she made them pancakes, and they complained about how she forgot the chocolate chips and that "daddy usually makes smiley faces in the pancakes." She was brought out of her reminiscing when she felt a small tug on her sweater. Looking down she was met by the curious green/brown eyes of her daughter. "What are we eating?" asked Lily.

"Hm, I was thinking some chicken fried rice should be good. How does that sound?" asked Ginny looking down at Lily then at her two sons who were sitting at the table talking. James and Albus looked at each other before nodding and saying that that sounded good to them. Lily nodded as well before bouncing back over to the table, listening to her brothers. Ginny smiled at them before getting started on dinner. 

They were halfway through with dinner before they heard the floo, and she never saw her kids get out of their chairs so fast. With a yell of "Dad!!" all three of them took off to the living room where Harry was stumbling out of the floo, wiping soot off of himself. Suddenly he was being tackled by three road runners. He let out a yelp and fell back on his butt as his kids ran straight into him. He let out a small laugh and hugged them all back. "We missed you, Dad," said Albus into Harry's chest. The other two nodded. Harry smiled softly and kissed all of their heads, whispering, "I missed you guys too."

"And how about me?" asked Ginny grinning from her place near the door. Harry looked up at his wife and smiled at her beckoning her closer to join the family hug pile on the floor. Ginny grin died down to a soft smile as she walked over to her family and kneeled next to them and hugged her kids. She felt the strong arm of her husband come around her and she relaxed into his hug not realizing how much she missed him. The Potter family stayed like that for five minutes, hugging and just loving each other, before Harry started to shift. "I am loving this hug, but I am starting to lose feeling in my butt."

His comment caused a giggle to fall from his kid's mouths as Ginny shot him an amused smile. Albus, Lily, and James got off there dad and stood up and waited for their parents to do the same. Once Ginny and Harry stood up and dusted off their clothes, the kids started talking all at once. Asking Harry about his trip, if he brought them anything, did he catch the bad guy, the usual stuff. Harry just laughed and tried to answer them all as they walked back to the kitchen to finish up dinner. 

Once dinner was finished, dishes all in the sink and the kids tucked into bed, Ginny headed back downstairs to see her husband nursing a cup of tea and a solemn look on his face. Ginny frowned again. She had seen that same look in her brother's eyes before he went to play with James. Swallowing a little, she sat in front of Harry and picked up her tea that Harry made for her. Both of them sat in silence before it became too unbearable for Ginny, and she blurted out, "What's wrong, Harry? Did something happen on that mission."

The savior of the wizarding world blinked a little as if he forgot Ginny was across from him before looking at her shaking his head. "No. Nothing happened during the mission. It is more about what happened before the mission."

Ginny frowned a little. Before the mission? What in the world happened before the mission for Harry to be like this. She must have said that out loud cause Harry tilted his head and said, "Ron didn't tell you, did he?"

Ginny blinked a little. So Ron knew? And he was supposed to tell her something. No wonder he gave her that smile. Ginny looked across to the table at her Harry, who was looking down at the tea. "No..he didn't tell me anything. What happened?"

Harry looked back at her and started talking, "There is a new Auror. Well, he's not new, but he's new to working out in the field. He's been doing paperwork most of the time, but this mission was his first time out in the field. And as you know, all new field Auror's must have a partner. A trained partner."

Ginny nodded. Of course, she knew. She has had many of the Auror's who were training under Harry as his partner come over to dinner. The training usually lasted only a couple of months since they were only sent on small minor missions. When she thought of that, she frowned. "Yeah, I know, but they are sent on small missions...this one was big. Why was he sent on this big one?"

Harry let out an almost dry chuckle and replied, "Cause everyone wanted to see him fail. Of course, he didn't, which surprised the shit out of everyone. But that's not the problem. The problem was no one else wanted to be his partner. Even for future missions. So I decided to step up and be his partner."

"Wait, I thought Ron was your partner," said Ginny puzzled.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he is. Well was. This guy is now my partner."

Ginny looked at Harry and studied his face. He seemed calm, but his usually bright green eyes were almost a dark green from all his anger. At who she doesn't know. Harry has never looked like that when he talked about his trainee partners. So she carefully asked, "Who is your new partner?"

The name that came out of her husband's mouth caused her heart to stop. "Draco Malfoy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? It seems mighty long to be but I enjoyed writing it. There is more the come! Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and its characters. If this seems similar to another fanfiction I am sorry. I just thought of this idea and felt the need to write it. If I made any mistakes they are mine. This might not be epilogue correct but I made it this way cause it makes the story flow correctly. 
> 
> Also if my calculations are correct, the year is 2012. James should be 8, Albus is 6, and Lily is 4.

Ginny stared at her husband for what seemed like hours. Did she hear him correctly? Is he seriously paired up with that git? Feeling her temper starting to rise, she looked back at her husband and asked in a voice she hoped was calm, "Can you repeat what you said?"

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it up even more. He knew his wife was going to be a little pissed off. "My new partner is Malfoy, Ginny. I know you heard me the first time," he said, looking back at his wife, who narrowed her eyes at his snappish tone. He didn't mean to snap at her, but the mission took a toll on him. All he wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. Harry didn't feel like arguing about this, but it seems like Ginny has other plans.

"And why the hell are you his new partner?" Ginny hissed out. "I'm pretty sure there are another Auror out there capable of being Malfoy's partner."

The raven-haired man shook his head and dropped his hand from his hair back down to the table. He picked up his now cold tea and took a sip from it, trying to calm down his temper that wanted to lash out. He tried to think of a way to word his explanation that would not make Ginny even more pissed off. Taking another sip of his tea, he pushed the cup off to the side and glanced back up at his wife, who was looking at him impatiently. Sighing, he finally answered, "Yeah, there are Auror's that could be his partner, but they don't want to be his partner. Considering who he is and things his family has done."

Not liking that answer, Ginny glared harder at Harry and asked, "And you willingly became his partner?" When she received a nod, she stood up and went over to the kitchen sink and poured her tea out and placed her cup in the sink. Ginny stared out the back window above the sink for a while before turning around to face her confused husband. "What in the world were you thinking Harry?! You know how he treated you in school, and yet you become his partner? What sense does that make?"

Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming. "Look, Gin-" he started before he was cut off by Ginny.

"No, you look," started Ginny, "He's a Death Eater, Harry. He basically tortured you in school. How he got into the Auror training program is beyond me, and why they allowed it, I don't want to know. I want you to end this partnership. I don't want him to hurt you."

"I know you're worried, Ginny, and I understand, but Hogwarts is over. There is no need to dwell on the past. And he earned his right to be in that training program just like every other Auror." said Harry standing up to put his tea down the sink. 

Ginny moved away from the sink with crossed arms and sneered, "So now you're defending him?"

Harry shook his head and looked at her. "I'm not defending him. And this partnership is only temporary. I'm hoping that once people see both of us getting along, someone would be willing to take him on as a permanent partner. Now I don't want to argue about this. What happened, happened. Let's leave it like that, okay?" 

Ginny clenched her jaw shut before nodding stiffly before turning on her heel, walking out the kitchen. Before she reached the stairs, she heard Harry sigh, and then the faucet running. Huffing a little, she looked up at the top of the stairs where Lily was standing rubbing her eyes. Frowning softly, Ginny headed up the stairs and asked softly, "Lily, what are you doing up?" She picked up her tired daughter and head in the direction of Lily's room. 

Lily yawned a little and cuddled her stuffed bear Molly gave her for her 2nd birthday. She tucked her head into the cran of her mother's neck and said, "I heard a noise downstairs and wanted to know if you and daddy were okay." Ginny smiled slightly and walked into Lily's room, laying the four-year-old under her light pink covers. She kissed her daughters head and said, "Your daddy and I are fine. Just talking, You get some sleep okay?" Ginny waited until Lily nodded before getting up and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. She walked further down to her middle child's room and peeked in, seeing Albus curled under the covers with only his black unruly hair peeking out. Smiling, Ginny closed the door and went to check on her eldest son. The sight she saw made her giggle quietly. James was sprawled out on his bed half hanging off, a pillow on the floor, and droll coming out his mouth. Shaking her head, she closed the door and headed off to her room.

The atmosphere in the Potter house was a little tense after Harry and Ginny's argument. The kids didn't understand why their parents were so silent to each other, but it made them a little on edge. After a couple of tense weeks, the atmosphere was back to normal when James accidentally spilled spaghetti on himself and everyone laughed at his whining. Everything was fine after that point. Ginny stopped asking Harry about his missions he went on, not wanting to have another argument. Every day he went into work she would tell him to be safe. He would just roll his eyes and kiss her cheek and tell her not to worry, but she can't help it. She knew what Malfoy was capable of and didn't want to hear anything about Harry getting hurt because of his partner. So every time Harry went into work, she would spend time with her kids, playing board games and the like sense Quidditch season was over for the year. 

After one very eventful day of chasing around her very energetic kids during a game of hide and seek, she decided to settle down on the couch in front of the fireplace and read a muggle book she has meant to catch up on. She heard her kids upstairs laughing with each other, playing whatever game they decided to make up. Shaking her head, Ginny looked down at the book in front of her and began reading in her head. Halfway through her book, she heard some call out her name. Ginny looked around, before her eyes zoomed in on the Floo, where Harry was looking at her with an amused look. Ginny placed her book down and kneeled in from the Floo and smiled at him. "Hey, Harry! What's up?" she asked, happy to see her husband's face.

"Hey, Gin. Quick question," said Harry looking slightly nervous to ask her something but also determined. Ginny tilted her head in question but nodded. Harry took a deep breath and let it out before asking, "Can Malfoy come over for dinner?" 

Time seemed to stop after Harry asked that question. Ginny stared at her husband with a blank look, but her usually warm brown eyes were filling with a small amount of rage. "And why should he be allowed in our house?" she asked venom dripping from her voice.

Harry groaned quietly and ran his fingers through his hair. God, he didn't want to start another argument. Harry just wanted to have a civilized conversation about this. He should've known Ginny's temper would've gotten the best of her. Licking his lips, he answered her question with, "He's not doing too well. Well he is but this is the weekend his ex wife was going to take his son and he has no one else in his house so I decided he could come over for dinner. It's my time to cook anyway." He shrugged a little, not sure what else to say.

"He's not alone, Harry. He has house-elves. Why can't they bloody cook for him?" Ginny asked

"I'm just trying to be nice, Ginny. He's going through a tough time right now. Can't you just allow him this one time to come over?" Harry pleaded with his wife.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her husband and said, "No." She saw Harry sigh which just made her even more pissed off. "Oh, come on, Gin. You have all my other partners over here to eat. I see no difference," said Harry rolling his eyes at his wife's behavior. Ginny clenches her fist together and blurts out, "There is a bloody difference, Harry! He was a Death Eater! I will not have that in my house. If he wanted someone to cook for him, he should have one of those house elves to do it!" Huffing a little, she ended with, "And he wouldn't be lonely if he didn't cheat on his bloody wife with some whore."

Once she said that, Harry stared at his wife in shock. Before she could say anything else, Harry replied in an icy tone, "Fine. He won't come over for dinner."

Ginny smiled. Now her husband was getting it. Her smile was short-lived by what her husband said next. "I'll just have dinner at his place." Ginny blinked a little and her smile turned into a frown. Then she narrowed her eyes at Harry who was watching her calmly. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed out. Harry smiled and replied a little smugly, "Try me." 

"Harry, wait-!" before she could finish her sentence. Harry's head disappeared, and she growled and let out a shout of "Damn it!" She stood up seething, glaring at the red fire willing her magic to calm down. Ginny could feel it under her skin. It was ready to come out and hex or destroy something. Ginny pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath and let it out before turning around to get started on dinner. She paused when she saw Albus staring at her fearfully. He was clutching one of his Quidditch figurines in his hands. Ginny's shoulders sagged a little as she relaxed her face into a smile. "What do you have there, Albus?" asked Ginny walking closer to her youngest son. 

Albus grip on his figurine closer to his chest. Albus ignored his mom's question and asked the question that was on his mind, "Is dad not coming home for dinner?"

Ginny bit her lip a little before sighing. She couldn't lie to her son; he heard the conversation and just needed clarification. Ginny nodded and kneeled down in front of her son. "Yeah. Your dad isn't going to be joining us for dinner tonight." Trying to steer the conversation away from Harry she pointed to the figurine in Albus' hand. "What do you have there?"

Albus frowned a little, not knowing why his mom changed the subject but held out the broken figurine to her. "My Viktor Krum figurine broke.." he said in a small voice. Ginny smiled at him which he returned warily. Taking the figurine, she pulled out her wand and whispered a spell that Albus didn't know how to pronounce and then handed the now fixed statuette back to him. Ginny stood up and ruffled his hair before saying, "Now run along. And tell your siblings dinner will be done shortly." Ginny watched as her son nodded before holding the figurine close as he walked up the stairs. Sighing a little, the redhead pocketed her wand and walked to the kitchen to prepare dinner. 

After that night, Harry nor Ginny mentioned the argument that happened. Sure, things were a little tense, but they at least talked and laughed with each other. Their kids yet again felt like something was off but didn't know what. As long as their parents were talking and laughing, they were fine. It was one November afternoon that shattered the happy atmosphere yet again. Ginny decided to do some early morning shopping. Not just for home but also for herself. She sent the kids over to The Burrow with a promise of picking them up around dinner time. She decided to head to a muggle grocery store to buy some more food and snacks for the kids. Even though most of the food is going to be cooked by Harry, she still likes to buy the ingredients so he can surprise her and the kids with different food combinations. Once she paid for everything, Ginny headed into an abandoned alley and placed a light freezing spell on all the frozen foods to keep them fresh before shrinking the grocery bags, putting them in her pocket, and then headed out of the alley to a clothing store. 

By the time she was finished shopping, she had checked her watch to see it was half-past noon. It looks like she would be able to grab the kids from The Burrow in time for lunch. Once she got home, she would put all the food up and all the clothes she bought in her closet before Flooing to The Burrow to grab James, Albus, and Lily. With a smile on her face at the possibility of seeing her kids early, Ginny headed back home with a small skip in her step. Usually, it would take her forever to get home, but since she was in her own little world, she got there faster than expected, but no worries. Looking around to make sure no muggles were around, Ginny headed up the stairs to her house and moved to unlock the door. She paused when she found it unlocked. She slowly pulled out her wand and creaked the door opened silently.

Ginny walked down the hallway. She strained her ears to see if she could hear any crashing of anything. Then her ears caught the sound of laughter. Ginny knew that laugh! It was Harry's! Grinning she pocketed her wand and started to head towards the sound of his laughter. She could hear Lily's giggle, Albus' snickering, and James' laugh. Harry must have gone over to The Burrow to grab them. They must be having lunch cause she could hear the clinking of silverware on plates. Right when she was about to make herself known, a chuckle she has never heard drifted from the kitchen. 'Who in the world was that?' thought Ginny. Finally, she reached the kitchen, and her eyes zeroed on a blond-haired man she had hoped to never see again.

Eyes narrowing and fists clenched, Ginny yelled out, "What in the world is he doing here?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you enjoy that? Feel free to comment what you think! I would really appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and its characters.  
> If this seems similar to another fanfiction I am sorry. I just thought of this idea and felt then need to write it. If I made any mistakes they are all mines. This might not be epilogue correct but I made it this way cause it makes the story flow correctly.

James, Albus, and Lily jumped at their mother's sudden presence. They looked over across the table at their dad's partner, Mister Malfoy, according to their dad. He was calmly eating the leftover fried rice that Harry heated up for them. Harry on the other hand has put down his spoon as he looked up at his wife with a calm look. His face must have angered Ginny more because she spit out, "Answer my question, Harry."

Harry opened his mouth to reply before Draco decided to speak up. "Didn't you say your Uncle just bought you a new Quidditch playset James?" asked Draco smoothly as he looked at the eldest Potter child who was looking between his parents. He looked at Draco when he called his name before nodding in agreement. Smiling, the blond stood up and said, "How about you show it to me?" James brown eyes lit up as he nodded grinning. He got out his chair and said, "Come on, Albus. Lily."

Albus looked at his older brother, who was looking at him with a tilted head. Then at his dad, who was clearing the table, he looked over at his sister, who was already out her seat and near the kitchen door holding Mister Malfoy's hand, and then finally at his seething mother. Making up his mind, he scrambled down from his chair and headed over to the door. Ginny watched as Draco took her kids upstairs and turned to face Harry. "Why the hell is he touching my kids?" she asked once Draco and the kids were out of earshot.

Harry sighed as he put the dishes in the sink and started to wash them off. "They aren't just your kids, Ginny. We did have them together," He said. 

Ginny growled lowly and replied, "I know, but you let him into our house after I told you I did not want him here. He needs to leave and never come back."

Harry sighed yet again. It seems like he has been doing that a lot lately. He didn't say anything else to Ginny as he continued to wash the dishes. Both of them stayed under a thick cloud of silence as Harry washed and dried the dishes. Ginny was getting very impatient with her husband but kept her temper in check. Once the last plate was washed, dried, and then put up, Harry turned around to look at his enraged wife. He leaned against the sink with his arms crossed. "To answer your first question," Harry started, "The reason he is here because we finished the case we were working on early, and I decided that I should treat him to lunch since he couldn't come over for dinner last month."

"And you came here. In our house. With him just to eat lunch," said Ginny, narrowing her eyes. Harry stared blanking at her before nodding. Ginny clenched and unclenched her fist as she tried to calm down. Finally, calming herself down long enough, she asked, "Why did you bring him around our kids?"

Harry shrugged a little. "I see nothing wrong with it. Draco and I have been partners for about 4 months. It was about time for him to meet them," he said. He honestly didn't see the problem. He talks about his kids so much at work that Draco has gotten curious. Even though Draco didn't say it out loud, he knew the blond was curious. "Plus," he started to add as an afterthought, "I was going to pick up the kids and make them some lunch since I was getting off early. It wouldn't make sense if I had lunch with Draco and then with the kids. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone."

Ginny huffed out a small laugh. "Oh, so he's Draco now? When have you guys been on a first name basis?"

"Since we started to get to know each other. We're partners, Gin. It would be stupid to keep calling each other by our surnames," said Harry rolling his eyes a little.

Ginny's face twisted into an ugly scowl. How dare Harry invite that Death Eater into their house? She doesn't want his filthy dark magic and mind to mess up her kids. She doesn't even want him near her kids. "I don't want him near our kids anymore, Harry. I don't want him here in our house. I don't want to see him," Ginny said, crossing her arms, glaring at her husband.

Harry glared back and said, "Are you serious?"

"Does it look like I'm playing Harry?" replied Ginny.

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it. Pinching his nose, he let out a sigh. "You know what? Whatever. Just...whatever." He moved from his position against the sink and headed to the door. He walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled, "Lily! James! Albus! Come here, please!" He waited for a couple of minutes before watching as he children came running down the stairs with Draco behind them with his hands clasped behind his back. 

James jumped down from the second to last step and stood in front of his dad, grinning. Albus blinked a little before deciding not to try what his brother did and just walked down the last few steps and stood next to his brother, smiling. Lily stood bouncing next to her older brothers. "What's up, dad?" asked James.

"Say goodbye to Mister Malfoy. He has to go home now," said Harry ruffling his eldest son's hair. The Potter kids turned around and waved goodbye to Draco before running back up the stairs. Draco chuckled and waved back before looking at Harry who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Draco shrugged almost lazily and smirked before heading to the Floo. The raven-haired man shook his head and followed his Auror partner. Ginny watched the whole exchange from the kitchen door with narrowed eyes. When she saw her husband following the blond, she asked, "Where are you going?"

Harry turned back to his wife and said, "I'm taking him home." Before she could answer, he walked out of sight. Ginny growled a little and stalked up the stairs. 

The weeks after that argument leading up to Christmas was tense and scary to the kids. They heard shouting downstairs that day Mister Malfoy came over, but they couldn't make out what was being said. Ever since then, one of them hears their parents arguing and goes to tell the others what they heard. They didn't know what their parents were arguing about, but they kept hearing the words "Death Eater" and "Draco." Luckily the arguing stopped once Christmas came around. The Potter family went over to The Burrow where everyone was at exchanging presents and eating the delicious dinner Molly prepared. James, Lily, and Albus received an extra present. When Ginny asked them where they got it from they said, Mister Malfoy. Ginny was about to start another argument before she remembered where she was. Whatever was in those presents she never found out because Harry has shrunken them down and pocketed it along with another present. Ginny frowned but didn't say anything. 

She never asked anything about the presents until a week after New Years. Ginny was walking past Albus' room to put some laundry up in Lily's room when she heard hushed tones coming from the room. Sitting the laundry basket down quietly, Ginny looked through the small crack in the door. All she was able to see was Lily's back and the side of Albus. Squinting a little, she saw a box with blue wrapping and gold designs on it. The redhead frowned and strained her ears to hear what her kids were saying.

"What did you get?" she heard James whisper. She saw Albus reach into the box and pull out stuff Windler(1). It had crystal blue eyes, and its hair looked so soft and inviting. 

"Aw. You got white?? I want white.." Lily said pouting. Ginny saw Albus look over at Lily and shook his head. "You got a cute little blue one. Your's is very pretty." Lily tilted her head but nodded in agreement. It was pretty cute. Ginny heard James snort and him saying, "Mines look better. Mines it black and red." Ginny saw Albus roll his eyes and tilted her head. Why in the world did Malfoy give her kids stuffed animals?

Ginny looked back inside the room when she heard Lily ask, "What is this? Some kind of note?" 

"Yeah, I got one too." "Me too."

Albus opened his envelope and gasped. "It's an invitation to the Endangered Species Sanctuary in Thailand. That is very expensive. How in the world did Mister Malfoy afford this?"

Ginny blinked once. Then again. And one more time before she felt anger boil. Leaving the door, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, where she knew Harry was reading over some case files. As she walked down the stairs, she pondered precisely what she was going to say to her husband. Opening the kitchen door, she saw Harry look up from the paper in his hand, and he flashed her a quick smile. Ginny closed the door behind her and said, "Did you know what was in those presents?"

Harry's smile vanished and was replaced with a confused look, "What presents?"

"Don't play dumb, Harry. Those presents Malfoy gave our kids on Christmas. Did you know that there was an invitation in them?" asked Ginny, narrowing her eyes. Harry sighed and took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Jeez, what is up with Ginny lately. He put his glasses back on his face and looked at his wife and said, "If you mean before the presents arrived, no, I didn't know. If you mean after the presents arrived and the kids opened them, yes, I was aware of what they were."

Ginny clenched her jaw and stared at her husband, who was looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. Ginny breathed out her nose. Since they didn't have this discussion during Christmas, they are going to have it now. Crossing her arms, she started with, "Why did Malfoy send our kids gifts anyway?"

Harry shrugged and replied, "It was thanks, I guess. I did send him and his son something." This statement caused Ginny's eyes to widen as she hissed out, "What?" Harry repeated what he said with a roll of his eyes. Ginny sneered a little and said, "Why did you think that was a good idea? You sent that Death Eater and his spawn a gift with our money. And you didn't think of telling me that?"

"Our money?" said Harry staring at his wife. He let out a dark chuckle. "I didn't use our money. I used my money. When I use my money, I don't have to tell you anything."

Ginny felt her eye twitch a little. She growled out, "I am your wife, Harry. I should know when you use your money. I am sending those gifts back to him." She turned on her heel and was about to head out the door when she felt a strong hand grab her wrist. Turning around, she was met with the dark green eyes of her husband, who said, "You will not return those gifts, Ginny. Draco gave it to them out of the kindness of his heart. Leave those gifts alone."

The redhead narrowed her eyes and searched her husband's face before yanking her wrist out of his grip and walked away. She headed up the stairs to her bedroom. Pausing by her middle child's room, Ginny debated if she should take those presents. She let out of huff before walking away from the room. Her kids looked happy with the gifts, and she didn't want to upset her kids. Neither parent spoke about the presents after that. When January 13th rolled around Ginny saw Harry had a present in his arm as he headed to the Floo to go to work. She didn't know who the present was for but decided not to ask, thinking it was for one of the Auror's.

She found out the truth when an owl she has never seen flew up to the kitchen window a couple of days later and tapped on the window impatiently. Ginny whipped off her wet hands and opened the door and took the letter from the owl's leg. She watched as the owl flew off before opening the letter scanning the contents. It was a letter from Malfoy thanking Harry for the present he sent his son. When Harry came home that night, they argued about the letter and gift, which ended in Ginny stomping out the kitchen pissed off at her husband. 

No one mentioned that argument, just like all the others once. Everything was cold and tense, but it quickly warmed up. Then that all warm air dropped again when Valentine's rolled around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) This is a magical creature a friend of mines created. They don't have many endangered species in Harry Potter so I decided to use hers. So much credit to her for naming it. This is what it looks like https://www.pinterest.com/pin/840484349193597855/ (credit to the artist)
> 
> How did you like this chapter? And if you were wondering, no James, Lily, and Albus haven't meet Scorpius yet but I plan on that happening soon! I think I might make the next chapter mostly Harry's point of view.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and its characters.  
> If this seems similar to another fanfiction I am sorry. I just thought of this idea and felt then need to write it. If I made any mistakes they are all mines. This might not be epilogue correct but I made it this way cause it makes the story flow correctly.
> 
> It is now 2013.

Harry walked down the streets of Diagon Alley, looking at all the Valentine decorations. The whole place was covered in white, red, and pink. Shop owners had red and pink hearts hanging outside their windows. Single witches were hanging around dress shops watching and gossiping about any wizarding couples that pass by. Wizards were almost running up and down Diagon Alley trying to find presents for their wives or girlfriends. Harry chuckled a bit when he passed by a wizard getting chewed out by his wife because he got the wrong size dress. Just like every other wizard, Harry was here to get Ginny a present. He would've done it a while ago, but he has been super busy with work. It also doesn't help that Ginny is always picking a fight. 

Harry sighed a little. He doesn't know what is happening with his wife. Sure, Draco has done some horrible things in their school year, but Draco redeemed himself by helping out during the war. Well he redeemed himself to Harry. Everyone else still, and probably will always see Draco as nothing more than a Death Eater's son. The raven-haired man frowned a little when he thought of his friend. Even after all these years, people still treat Draco like shit. He is hoping that this partnership will help people see that Draco is no longer a bad guy.

He nodded to himself at the thought before stopping at his destination. Sugarplum's Sweets Shop. This was the first stop on his list. Harry opened the door and took in the sugary smelling air. He has heard from a colleague that Sugarplum's Sweets Shop was having a sale on Cauldron Cakes shaped like hearts. Harry walked over to where the cakes were and picked up a box that contained four of the cakes. Smiling at how adorable they looked, Harry walked over to the counter and paid for them. Walking out with the box of cakes in a bag, he continued his journey of getting Valentine gifts for his wife.

After his stop at Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, Harry stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies, a newly open shop that sells muggle perfume and cologne, and finally a stall. At Quality Quidditch Supplies, Harry picked up a new pair of Quidditch gloves Ginny has been eyeing for a while. He went to the new shop to see if they had Ginny's favorite muggle perfume, and luckily they did. Finally, Harry went to a vendor that was selling flowers. He picked up a bouquet of roses and paid for them before walking again. As he was heading to the Leaky Cauldron, he was too busy smelling the roses to notice where he was going. This distraction caused him to run into a solid chest, which causes him to drop everything in his hand and land on his butt with an 'oof.'

"Watch where you're go-Harry?" Draco stopped short of the insult he was going to say when he noticed who bumped into him. Harry groaned and fixed his glasses which went skewed during his fall. He blinked a little up at Draco who was looking at him with a blank look but Harry could see the worry in his grey eyes. Draco squatted down and said, "Are you okay?"

Harry nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Was just distracted." He looked around him at the gifts he bought and started to pick them up. He looked around one more time and frowned. Where are the roses? "Looking for these?" asked the blond. Harry looked up to see Draco wearing his usual smirk with the roses in his hands. Harry nodded again and stood up. "Yeah, I am." 

Draco smiled and closed his eyes, smelling the roses. He opened his eyes and looked Harry straight in the eye and said, "No wonder you were so distracted. They smell lovely." Harry felt a light blush appear on his cheek as he maintained eye contact with the blond. He wasn't sure why he was blushing, but Harry felt like the longer he looked at Draco and his damn smirk, the brighter his blush was going to be.

Harry coughed into his fist and broke contact with the blond as he croaked out, "Yeah...they do.."

Draco chuckled and held out the roses with an uncharacteristic soft smile. "I'm pretty sure these are for you." He watched as Harry's blush deepened as he took the roses with a small "thank you." Draco nodded before shifting almost nervously. Almost nervously because Malfoys never get nervous. Harry noticed the shift in his friend's mood almost instantly. Others may just see Draco looking calm and indifferent, but if they got to know him, they would see how Draco's eyes weren't looking at Harry's face but over his right shoulder.

Harry tilted his head a little and asked, "Is something wrong, Draco?" Said blond looked at his friend and gave a barely noticeable shake of his head. "Nothing is wrong," said Draco, "I just wanted to ask you if you would like to accompany me to The Leaky Cauldron." Harry raised an eyebrow. Go with Draco to The Leaky Cauldron? "I thought you would never be caught dead in a pub?"

Draco snorted a little and crossed his arms. "You are right about that, but they do serve some pretty decent tea." His response made Harry let out a small laugh. Draco scowled and looked at him. What did he say that made Potter all giggly? Draco looked at his watch and then back at Harry who was still laughing. "What is so funny?" snapped Draco.

The raven headed tried to calm himself down enough to answer and said in between his giggles, "You are so British."

Draco scowled again, which just made Harry bust out laughing again. Many wizards and witches stopped what they were doing to watch in bemusement as the savior of the wizarding world laughed his heart out. Draco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he waited for his friend to stop laughing. They stood like that for another five minutes before Harry calmed down and agreed to go with him to The Leaky Cauldron. As the two friends walked to the pub, they were unaware of the flashing cameras. 

When Harry got home that afternoon, he gave Ginny her presents, which resulted in him getting tackled by his wife and showered in kisses. Harry laughed during the whole ordeal and offered to cook dinner for the two of them. They sent the kids over to The Burrow so they could finally have some alone time. As the two lovers tumbled into bed that night, they weren't aware of the events that were going to transpire. 

A week later, Harry was exiting the Floo when a newspaper was shoved in his face. Blinking a little, he looked up at his wife that was glaring at him. Frowning, he looked down at the newspaper from The Daily Prophet. The top headline read in dark bold letters; **Potter and Malfoy: Friends? Or Something More? ******

Harry inwardly groaned as he kept reading.

_Our Savior Harry Potter and the Ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy were spotted in Diagon Alley during Valentines. Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy has been Auror's partner for over six months. Or so we thought. Both were spotted having a quick meal in The Leaky Cauldron. But according to our sources, it was not just a quick meal. Mr. Potter had with him some Valentine items along with some roses. Maybe they were for his wife, Mrs. Ginevra Potter née Weasley. Or perhaps they were from his secret lover Mr. Malfoy. A picture of Mr. Malfoy handing Mr. Potter the same bouquet of roses was taken moments before both of them were in The Leaky Cauldron (see image to the left.) More of this store on page 39. ___

Harry looked over at the picture, which showed Draco handing him the roses that he dropped when they collided. He could see the darkness around his cheeks, which clearly showed him blushing. Just when Harry got his name out of The Prophet, they come back and do some shit like this. He walked past his angry wife and up to the stairs to go to the bedroom. He could hear the footsteps of his wives and hoped that his kids weren't home. And they probably weren't considering it was a school day and they were with their tutors. Harry walked into the bedroom and shrugged off his Auror jacket.

"So you're not going to say anything?" asked Ginny.

Harry turned around to face his wife and said, "What do you want me to say, Gin? Cause no matter what I tell you, you're going to start an argument."

Ginny balled up her fist and said, "What I want you to say, Harry is that all that was a lie, and you're not cheating on me with fucking Malfoy."

Harry crossed his arms and replied, "I am not cheating on you with Draco."

"Well, you were blushing in the photo when he gave you those roses. Explain that", said Ginny narrowing her eyes. 

Harry groaned and sat at the edge of the bed. He ran his hand down his face and sighed. "It was all a misunderstanding, Gin. I wasn't paying attention when I was walking and bumped into him. I dropped everything I had, but he managed to pick up the roses that I bought for you and gave them back. Simple."

"But you were blushing. You had no reason to be blushing if you simply bumped into him, Harry," said Ginny, still not believing her husband. Harry shrugged and didn't say anything else. He honestly doesn't know why he blushed either. So instead of answering with a lie, he just decided not to respond at all as he got up to finish changing his clothes. Ginny watched as her husband moved around the room, not answering her last statement. Growling, Ginny stalked out the room and went to the Floo. Harry did not see Ginny for the rest of the day until she came home with the kids. When they came home, Harry was in the middle of fixing dinner. All three kids quickly ran to their dad and hugged him tightly, telling him how much they missed him and how class was super boring. Harry chuckled and told them to freshen up for dinner. He looked at his wife, who was standing in the doorway just watching him. When he raised an eyebrow, all she did was huff and walk away. Harry shook his head and focused back on the food he was preparing. 

More articles after that containing rumors of Draco and Harry's "affair" kept showing up, causing Ginny to lose trust in her husband. He kept reminding her that nothing that was said in The Prophet was true but she never listened. Harry put an end to this rumor when reports found their way into his and Draco's office. Harry told them that everything they were posting was false, and if they didn't stop, he would find a way to put an end to The Daily Prophet. No more articles were printed out.

Everything went back to normal by time Albus' 7th birthday rolled around. The Potter family went to a new restaurant that opened up in Diagon Alley The Underwater Heaven. It was a nice restaurant. The inside looked just like an underwater utopia. The waiters and waitress were dressed like different sea creatures, both muggle and magical, which were entertaining to the kids. Each table was clothed in a sea blue tablecloth with fake pearls scattered along the table. Above the tables were lights that were shaped light treasure chests. At the end of every meal, kids below 12 would receive a plushy of their choice from the restaurant gift shop. The restaurant itself served up seafood along with regular food just in case you don't want seafood. 

After eating lunch there, The Potters headed over to The Burrow, where a surprise party was being held. All of Weasley's and their families were there, giving out wonderful gifts that Harry and Ginny knew Albus was going to play with for a while before forgetting all about it. As presents were being opened and the cake was being eaten, Harry could almost forget about all his troubles. Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Give you guys a small Drarry moment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and its characters.  
> If this seems similar to another fanfiction I am sorry. I just thought of this idea and felt then need to write it. If I made any mistakes they are all mines. This might not be epilogue correct but I made it this way cause it makes the story flow correctly.
> 
> This chapter is mostly a filler.

March 23rd quickly turned into March 31st, Easter Sunday. Ever Easter since after the war, the Weasley family would host an Easter Sunday lunch at The Burrow. There they would have a semi late lunch, and while lunch was going, Arthur, Charlie, and Bill would go outside and hide easter eggs around The Burrow. That was usually the plan, but not this year. Everyone has been so busy with their lives that they honestly forgot about the brunch, so they didn't cancel anything they had planned that day. James, Albus, and Lily were upset when Molly sent a letter over by owl saying that the brunch was canceled for this year. Ginny and Harry looked at the sullen faces of their kids, and then at each other, they knew what they had to do.

Ginny looked at her kids with a bright smile on her face. Bending down, so she was at their level, she asked, "How about we go watch a movie?"

Lily pouted a little. "A movie? But it's Easter!"

"Yeah, it's Easter! Why would we want to watch a movie on Easter?" asked James bewildered.

Ginny chuckled a little and ruffled her children's hair grinning. "Yeah, I know it is Easter, but that new movie about those cavemen came out. What was it called again?" asked Ginny frowning a little when she couldn't think of the name.

Albus suddenly brightened up and yelled, "The Croods!" James and Lily brightened up as well. They wanted to see that movie ever since they first saw the trailer. It seems so cool! "Are we going to go see The Croods mom?"

Ginny nodded and watched as her kids cheered before taking off upstairs to change since they were still in their pajamas. Ginny looked at her husband, who was watching the scene, amused. Ginny shook her head and smiled before asking, "You know what to do, right?"

Harry nodded and ticked off everything he said on his fingers, "Yeah, of course, I do. Firstly you will take the kids to watch the movie. Once you leave I then go to the store to buy candy and empty easter eggs. I then come back and put the candy in the Easter eggs. Finally, I hide the easter eggs around the house and in the backyard."

Ginny grinned and nodded along. By the time Harry was finished with his side of the plan, Harry and Ginny's kids had finally emerged from their rooms fully dressed and came down the stairs and stood in front of their parents, the excitement just rolling off of them. Ginny smiled at them before turning to Harry to say goodbye and kiss his cheek. She waited until her kids had hugged their dad before heading to the front door. There was a theater a couple of miles away from the house, but it wasn't that long of a walk, maybe about 15 minutes, but the movie didn't start until 12, and it was 11:23 now. As they walked down the street and to the movie theater, the kids were busy chatting away about how they thought the movie would turn out and the type of snacks they were going to get. Once they got to the movie theater Ginny purchased the tickets while James, Albus, and Lily went over to the concessions to look at the candy rack. Albus picked up a pack of Skittles, Lily chose a Hershey's chocolate bar, while James decided to get Twizzlers. They waited for Ginny to get over to the cash register so they could eat their candy without any repercussions. Ginny chuckled at her kids before ordering a large popcorn with a larger slushie so all of them could share. Once she paid for everything, she headed to the theater that would show the movie. 

During the movie, Albus and Lily would whisper about the characters and their actions while James laughed loudly at every funny scene, which there was a lot of. Ginny just sat there and enjoyed the children's movie, which was better than she thought it was going to be. Once the 1 hour and 38 minutes movie was over, god it felt longer than that to Ginny, they all headed back the house. The kids were busy talking about how great the movie was and their favorite characters. James' favorite character was Sandy, Albus enjoyed how hilarious Thunk, and Lily loved Guy but mostly because Ryan Reynolds voiced them. Ginny joined in and said her favorite character was Ugga, which caused all her kids to roll their eyes. Of course, a mom would love a mom character. They got home after a while, and Ginny opened the door to see three easter baskets sitting in front of it. One was blue, another was red, and the last one was pink.

"What is all of this for?" asked James picking up the red one. The other two shrugged and picked up their Easter baskets as well. 

Harry suddenly walked around the corner and grinned. "Since we weren't able to go over to grandma and grandpa's place for the easter hunt, your mom and I decided to have a personal one here." He opened his arms to show that 'here' meant their house. 

"Oh my god?!"

"That is so cool!"

"Yay!"

Harry chuckled at his bouncing kids before saying, "Yes, it is pretty cool. Now just like at The Burrow, you have a time limit. Your time limit is that you have an hour to find all the eggs inside and outside the house. There are a few special eggs as well, I like to call them Golden Eggs cause they are, well, golden. These eggs are a special price but I only placed one out so whoever gets that egg will have the special price that is in the egg. The one who collects the most eggs will also get a big price. You three only have a few rules; 1, do not go outside the wards. 2, do not push or shove your siblings. 3, do not steal your siblings' eggs. 4, my office and Ginny and I's bedroom are off-limits. And 5, have fun. Your time begins...now!"

The Potter kids quickly took off in different directions of the house. James decided to go check out the library, where he found a bright blue egg hidden by a stack of books in the corner. Albus ran into the kitchen and searched through the bottom cabinets, there he found a yellow egg with black stripes. Lily ran off into the garden and saw a pink egg with white dots half-buried into the dirt. As the kids ran out of the house and outside of it trying to find the eggs, Ginny and Harry sat down in the living room. Ginny was telling Harry about the movie and answered any questions Harry asked about the film. 

Soon the hour passed by in a flash. To signal that the hour was over, Harry called out, "Kids! Time is up!" The potter kids looked up from wherever they were and quickly made their way into the living room. Once standing in front of their parents, each kid held out their basket smiling proudly. James' usually tamed hair was ruffled with a few leaves in them, Albus had dust all over his clothes, and Lily was the most kept out of her brothers with only a little wrinkles in a white Hello Kitty shirt. Ginny chuckled at her kids and told them to go count their eggs. The Potter kids nodded before going into separate directions of the living room to count their eggs. Lily found 15 eggs including the golden one, which the two boys weren't happy about, Albus found 23 eggs, and James found only ten which he isn't happy about but didn't complain when he saw his younger brother jump in joy because he collected the most eggs. Once the excitement settled down a little the kids opened their eggs to see various candies both wizarding and muggle. Lily opened her golden egg, which was bigger than the other easter eggs, to see one Galleon, two Sickles, and three Knuts. Lily grinned and hugged her parents before sticking her tongue out at her siblings who were groaning about it was so unfair that she got money and candy. Ginny calmed the kids down while Harry went somewhere to get Albus' prize for getting the most eggs. 

The Savior of the Wizarding world came back a couple of minutes with an easter basket in his hand. Where that basket had been hiding, the kids did not know, but they couldn't help but stare at it in awe. The given easter basket was made out of colorful wicker and was filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies and treats- muggle and wizard candies alike. There were cauldron cakes, extra-large Hershey chocolate bars, gummy bears, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, Peeps marshmallows, toffees, sugar quills, and the list goes on. And, not only candies and sweets could be found in the basket, there were toys as well. There was a slinky, a stuffed bunny, a yoyo, a boomerang, and other cool and festive knick-knacks that one couldn't possibly dream of in just an ordinary Easter basket. Along with a few mysterious, unnamed plastic eggs lying amongst the items waiting to be opened and used just like everything else. (1) Harry grinned at the excitement dancing in his kids' eyes before bending down in front of Albus handing the basket out to him and said, "And here is your prize Albus for collecting the most eggs." Albus grinned as his green eyes similar to his father's glittered with happiness as he took the basket and looked at all the contents along with his siblings. Being the generous boy that he is, Albus gave Lily and James the candies that he didn't enjoy the taste of along with one or two toys. James suddenly frowned and looked up at his parents.

"Lils got money, Al got a bunch of cool stuff...what do I get?" asked James, biting his bottom lip.

"I thought you never asked," started Ginny love and amusement shining in her brown eyes, "Whoever didn't receive anything gets to pick out what to eat for dinner and dessert for a week." She watched as James' shocked face suddenly turned into a smile and then a small smirk. At the smirk, Ginny swallowed a little. Maybe she and Harry should've chosen another idea. Shaking her head a little she asked him what he wanted for dinner and dessert. James replied with, "Lasagna and chocolate cake!"

Ginny chuckled and nodded before looking at Harry. In a silent agreement that agreed that Harry would cook the lasagna and Ginny would make the cake since she is better at baking than cooking. The two lovers went to the kitchen to get started while their kids played and ate a little bit of candy before dinner. They knew if they ate more, they would be in some serious trouble and didn't want to risk it. Well, Lily and Albus didn't want to risk it, so they ate only two pieces while James ate five pieces of candy. Once dinner was ready, Harry told them to wash their hands before joining them at the table. Throughout dinner, they would talk about things ranging from movies to how the kids' studies were going. 

The day trickled into April 1st. All the kids have woken up excited because every April Fools Day, they would go to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to pick out some new products Uncle George has created. After buying almost every prank imaginable, the Potter family floo'd over to The Burrow, where some of their family were still arriving. All the kids ran into one of the bedrooms so they could trade out pranks, and the adults stayed in the living room, chatting about what was happening in their lives. Usually, when the adults were deep into their conversions, the kids would sneak down and set up pranks around the house. This year they managed to find a way to dye Uncle Ron's skin a deep purple, caused Uncle Bill to run into some tape, and wrapped Uncle Charlie up in bubble wrap. They didn't dare go after the women because they didn't want to be scolded. After having an early dinner at The Burrow, everyone slowly went back to their homes with parting words. The rest of April went by smoothly and so did May. Sometime in the middle of May, Teddy was able to come visit the Potter family during a Hogsmeade weekend. With permission from Headmistress McGonagall of course. During the few hours he was allowed to stay, he talked about how school was going and the different houses and how the Slytherins aren't total prats anymore. Teddy amused the kids by changing his appearance to whatever they asked. Soon his time was up. With a promise to visit next Hogsmeade weekend, Teddy flooed back to Hogwarts.

As May turned into June, the Potter family didn't realize that everything would change drastically. For better or worse, only time will tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) My best friend came up with the description of the easter basket cause I really suck at them. So I really truly thank her. I love her so much!
> 
> Sorry this took so long to update but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this chapter. But! I got it done. Like I said at the notes up top this chapter was just a filler for the real juicy stuff that is going to happen. I really hope you enjoyed it and see you next chapter!
> 
> P.S. Has anyone seen The Croods? If you did let me know how you liked it in the comments if you would like the share your experience. I freaking loved that movie.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when Quidditch starts in the magical world but in real life the season is from June to August so I used that one. 
> 
> Also, that is a little short but I want to go a little more in detail or something like that during the lunchtime. I know that probably doesn't make sense but you'll understand once I post (read: write then post) the next chapter.

Harry woke up a little early on June 5th. He looked over at the digital clock on his nightstand that read 10:15. Great, he woke up two hours before his alarm was supposed to go off. Rubbing his eyes, Harry grabbed his glasses and put them on before looking at his sleeping wife. Ginny hair was in a messy braid, and she was curled into the fetal position breathing softly. Harry smiled a little and kissed her cheek, which caused the redhead to mumble something as a sleepy smile formed on her face. The raven-haired man smiled before getting out of the bed to take a shower. Once his shower was done, he walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his waist as he headed to his closet to find an outfit for the day. Since he didn't have to go to work, he decided on a simple white t-shirt along with black jeans and some trainers. Looking back over at his wife one last time, Harry headed out the room and down the stairs to start on breakfast. As he walked into the kitchen he thought about what his plans for the day were. Ginny is supposed to go to Wales today to train with the Holyhead Harpies since Quidditch season is starting up again. Since she is going to be gone most of the day, Harry will have to pick up the kids from their tutors, but he doesn't want to do that. Don't get him wrong, he loves his kids he just doesn't like going over to the school and everyone fawning over him. Even after all these years, people still come up to him, thanking him for defeating Voldermort. It has gotten so annoying. 

Maybe, he doesn't have to pick him up. But what exactly would he do with them? Before he could dwell on it any longer when out of the corner of his eye he saw Ginny walking into the kitchen with her hair in a ponytail along with her wearing her Quidditch training outfit and a duffel bag. "Morning, Harry!" greeted Ginny cheerfully as she spotted her husband. Ginny walked over to him and kissed his cheek. Harry smiled, kissed her cheek, and handed her a cup of coffee that he knew she needed. Ginny grinned at him before taking a seat at the kitchen table sipping her coffee. As time went on, the kids slowly entered the kitchen looking almost dead to the world. Albus came in first, since he was usually the first one up out of all his siblings, and sat down staring at the table with droopy eyes. Lily was next but she looked a little more awake than her brother but her red pajamas were all wrinkly and ruffled. James was the last one to show up with his hair all mussed. Once he sat down, he crossed his arms on the table and laid his head down on them closing his eyes. Harry smiled at all his kids before putting chocolate chip pancakes in front of them with an amused, "Good Morning, you three."

Each kid's sleepiness vanished when they smelled the chocolate pancakes. The grinned and replied with a quick, "Morning!" before diving into the food. Ginny and Harry shook their heads and ate their pancakes more slowly as they chatted. Once breakfast was over, Ginny kissed all of their heads with a promise of coming back by dinner before heading out of the house to an Apparition point outside the wards. Harry told his kids to go get dressed cause he had a surprise for them. The kids shared a look before shrugging and heading upstairs. Harry smiled and began to wash the dishes. Once he was done, he went upstairs to his office and opened a cabinet door. Grabbing a box he stared at it a little. It was quite simple really, It only had a dark green wrapper with a black bow, simple but elegant, like his Auror partner. The raven-haired smiled before shrinking the box and putting it in his pocket. He checked his watch to see that it was noon now. 'Wow, time flew by quickly,' thought Harry. He wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at the box, but it must have been a long time because he could hear his kids yelling from downstairs aggravated. 

Harry shook his head before walking out of the room, closing the door behind himself. He walked down the stairs into the living room, where his kids were waiting for him. He smiled at them and got three bright smiles back. "Don't we have tutoring today, Dad?" asked James realizing it was, in fact, a Wednesday. Harry nodded and replied with a wink, "Yeah, you do, but I decided to give you guys a day off. You deserve it." James, Albus, and Lily grinned. They hardly got a day off beside holidays and weekends. Their mom always wanted them to go to their tutors every day to learn as much as they can. Harry on the other hand feels like kids should be kids and plus learning as you grow up is much more exciting than learning everything at a young age. Harry smiled at his kids before telling them, "I'm going to have to drop you guys off The Burrow for a while, but I'll be back really fast. I promise." The kids shared a look wondering where their dad was going before nodding. James wrapped his arms around his dad's waist while Albus grabbed Harry's shirt, and Lily grabbed Harry's left hand. The savior pinched some floo powder and threw it in the fire, calling out, "The Burrow."

The Potter family stepped through the green flames before being spat out in The Burrow. If he didn't have his kids to ground him, Harry knew he would have landed face-first on the floor. His kids let go of him and ran off into the living room where Arthur was looking at a muggle device. Harry went to the kitchen where he knew Molly was and asked her if she could watch the kids for a while before which she happily agreed too. Harry smiled and hugged her, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek before going back to the floo. He floo'd to his office before turning around and flooing to his last destination. Harry stumbled out of the fireplace before straightening out, dusting off the soot on his clothes. He took in the clean foyer which consisted of a single white chair, a table with a bowl of floo powder, and a small dresser where he knew some quills, ink, and parchment were kept. He finished looking around when he heard footsteps coming towards the room. Harry smiled when the owner of the footsteps reached the door. A single pale eyebrow rose as he took in the dark-haired male in his foyer. "What are you doing here, Potter?"

Harry's smile turned into a grin as he asked, "So it's Potter again, Malfoy?"

Draco rolled his eyes at his friend. "Answer the question."

Harry chuckled and took the present out of his pocket and enlarged it before handing it to the ex-Slytherin. Draco's other eyebrow rose with its companion before taking the present. He neatly took off the bow and wrapping paper before opening the box. Grey eyes slowly widened as he took in the content of the box. He looked up at the ex-Gryffindor who was biting his lip nervously. "Do you...do you like it?" asked Harry.

Draco nodded as he took out the photo frame. In the frame was a picture of his grandfather Abraxas along with his grandfather's wife. They were both smiling in front of the Malfoy Manor looking more relaxed then a Malfoy is supposed to be. Draco swallowed a little and felt pressure behind his eyes. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before letting it out, letting a rare smile that was only reserved for close family and friends take over his face. Looking at Harry, who was watching him with a frown on his face, Draco nodded at him and said, "Thank you. I don't know how to repay you."

Harry let out a small chuckling he waved his hand around before putting his hands in his pockets casually. "You don't have to repay me. I guess since you gave me a picture of my parents for Christmas it only seems fair I get you a picture. Since you can see your parents I thought your grandparents would be better. I know you miss your grandfather and never saw your grandmother…" Harry stopped his rambling when he felt a pair of arms come around him. The raven-haired man blinked a little before wrapping his arms around the blond, burying his face in his shoulder, hugging him back. Pulling back a little, he smiled at the blond and said with a cheeky smile, "That was unexpected."

Draco smiled at the shorter male and shrugged lazily and replied with a smirk, "Felt like it."

Harry shook his head before pocketing his wand that he almost forgot was in his hand. As he turned back to the floo, he told Draco, "I only came to give you that. I felt the kids at The Burrow, so I should go get them,"

"Wait," said Draco, grabbing the other's wrist. He waited for Harry to turn around before continuing, "How about you come back for lunch. You can even bring your kids." Harry searched the grey eyes of his Auror partner before nodding with a smile. Once the other let his wrist go and headed back to the door Harry grabbed the floo powder and threw it into the fire. He went back to his office then back to The Burrow. The emerald-eyed man tripped on his way out of the floo at The Burrow before dusting off the soot heading to the living room. The kids looked up and cried out happily, "Dad!" before running and tackling Harry to the floor. The man let out a quiet squeak before wrapping his arms around his kids in a hug. Molly came out of the kitchen and smiled at the scene before saying, "James, Lily, Albus get off your dad." They grumbled a little and said under their breath, "Yes Grandma" before getting off their dad watching him stand up dusting off his clothes. Harry looked at Molly and said, "Thanks for watching the kids. I'll take these little rascals off your hands."

Molly waved a hand around and said, "It is no problem, Harry, really. I love watching over my grandkids."

Harry smiled at the woman before looking at his kids. "How about we go and grab some lunch?" All his kids nodded. Harry grinned and said goodbye to Molly and Arthur before turning back to the floo. His kids took their places as he grabbed the floo powder and floo'd back to his office. They only got a quick look around before they were flooing again, and then the kids landed in a foyer which they have never seen before. Looking around, they noticed two blond's standing there. They recognized Mister Malfoy but not the little boy who was hiding behind his dad's leg. The blond boy's eyes caught the sight of Harry and grinned. He came from around his dad and with a happy cry of, "Harry!" he hugged the raven-haired wizard. Harry grinned and bent down to hug the boy back. James, Albus, and Lily looked at each other, wondering how this random boy knows their dad.

Harry stood up after letting go of the boy and said, "Hey there, Scorp. What are you doing here? I thought you had tutoring today."

Scorpius grinned and said, "I would've gone, but since it's Father's birthday, he allowed me to skip today." Harry looked at Draco with a raised eyebrow and all he got in return was a smile. Harry shook his head before looking back down at the boy. "Well, I'm glad you're here. You get to meet my kids." Scorpius grey eyes brightened up at the possibility of meeting new kids. Sure he had playdates, but most of them were with Pureblood kids whose parents just wanted to get on his Father's good side. Harry stepped to the side to show all three of his kids who were standing nervously in front of the blond boy. James sucked up his nervousness and stuck out his hand in greeting like his parents taught him and said, "Hi. I'm James."

Scorpius shook his hand and replied, "I'm Scorpius. Nice to meet you, James."

Albus looked at his older brother, who nodded at him with a smile. Albus let out a puff of air; he didn't know he was holding in and held out his hand. "My name is Albus."

Scorpius smiled at the black-haired boy. His smile turned into a grin when he saw Albus turn a little pink around his cheeks. He shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Albus."

Lily finally gained the courage she knew she had and held out her hand, smiling brightly and said, "I'm Lily."

"Lily, huh? What a pretty name like the flower." Scorpius said, shaking the little girl's hand.

Lily smiled brightened even more at what Scorpius said, "Yeah, just like the flower. I'm named after my grandma." Scorpius nodded and looked at the other boys and asked, "Are you two named after people too?" James and Albus nodded with a smile.

Harry and Draco watched the kids talking before sharing a look and a smile. Draco clapped his hands together and looked at the kids who stopped chatting to look up at the blond man. Draco looked over at Scorpius and said, "How about you four go finish your conversation in your playroom Scorpius. Lunch will be ready soon." The Malfoy heir nodded before walking out of the room, followed by the Potter kids. The Auror partners walked out of the area as well and headed to a private kitchen to get started on lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. I decided to give you guys a small tiny amount of Albus/Scorpius. And what was with that look and smile Harry and Draco shared. Now they are heading to a _private _kitchen. What could happen there?__


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this is late but I haven't been feeling motivated a lot lately. I still don't but it is slowly coming back! So I really hope you enjoy this chapter cause I loved writing it. Especially Draco and Harry ;) small spoiler!
> 
> Also, based on a comment, I said chips because I'm an American, when they are called crisps in Britain. Soooo let's just say, to make everything easier for everyone, that Draco and Scorpius went to America, muggle America, for vacation maybe? And they figured that since they are called chips there, they shall call them chips as well when at home.

"So what's for lunch?" asked Harry looking at Draco. They just entered one of the Malfoy's private kitchens Draco had installed after the war. The blond discovered that cooking helped calm him down after a nightmare and come to find out, he was actually a good cook. Maybe not as good as Harry, but he was pretty damn good in his opinion. The kitchen looked fairly minimalistic, yet had quite the stylish touch. The cabinets were a polished ivory along with the ceiling while the walls were covered in gray tiles. In contrast, the countertops were a sleek black with silver kitchenware. Despite the kitchen being of an average size, its neat appearance and arrangement made it look a lot more spacious than it already is. (1)

The blond hummed a little and pondered the question as he walked over to the white fridge covered with letter magnets. He opened the refrigerator and peered into before replying, "Since it is still sort of early, how about some simple ham and turkey sandwiches with chips?" He looked over his shoulder at his companion, who nodded in agreement. Smiling, Draco turned back to the fridge to grab the ham and turkey slices along with the mayo and mustard. As he stood up, the ex Slytherin closed the refrigerator and moved over to the counter to stand next to Harry. The latter already had several simple white plates out stacked on top of each other off the corner of the counter. In front of him was a cutting board with a butter knife and bread slices. Draco placed the mayo, mustard, ham, and turkey slices next to the cutting board. Harry shot Draco a brief smile before grabbing a hand sanitizer bottle that Draco liked to keep in his kitchens. 'He's such a clean freak,' thought Harry almost fondly.

"Sanitizer?" asked Harry holding the bottle up to the blond.

"Of course," Draco replied, holding his hand out.

Harry grinned at him before squirting some in the blond's hand before his own. Once they rubbed the hand sanitizer in, the younger man grabbed two slices of bread and laid them on the cutting board. He then grabbed the packet of ham slices and began to make the first sandwich. He glanced over at the older man who was leaning his left hip against the counter, looking at him. "Are you just going to watch me make these sandwiches?" asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.

Draco shrugged a little and said a simple, "Maybe." 

Harry shook his head at his work partners antics before going back to making the sandwiches. The two fell into a comfortable silence as Harry continued to make the sandwiches with Draco watching him. The blond knew what he was doing was kind of creepy, but he couldn't exactly help it. He looked up at his friend's face to see him smiling a little as he continued making a sandwich. Draco couldn't help but marvel at the man next to him. With his emerald green eyes that sparkled when he was happy but turned a deep, almost forest green, he was upset or angry, to his unruly hair that also had that 'just shagged' look, he was just beautiful. The ex Death Eater knows that crushing on his Auror partner, who happens to have three kids and a bloody wife, was wrong, but dammit he doesn't want to be right. Draco bit his bottom lip a little as he glanced down at tan hands, which was busy working on the fourth sandwich.

"How are you and Ginny?" blurted out Draco, not realizing what he said until he let it out.

Harry paused in his sandwich, making before picking back up. As he got a scoop of mayo to spread on a sandwich, he shrugged a little at the other man's question. "We're fine, I guess."

One pale eyebrow rose as he repeated, "You guess?"

The ex Gryffindor nodded. "Yeah, I do. We're fine, but we've been arguing a lot lately. It is not simple, like forgetting to put up laundry or doing the dishes, but it's heavy arguments which end up with Ginny storming out."

Draco licked his lips as a sliver of glee shot up his spine before he quickly squashed it down and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what are these arguments about?"

Harry glanced over at the blond who was watching him with calm grey eyes. He doesn't know what is possessing him to tell the blond about his problems, but it feels good to let it all out. Emerald eyes looked back to the cutting board as he placed the now finished sandwich off to the side as he grabbed two slices of bread to make another sandwich. "They are mostly about you. Actually, they are all about you."

Two pale eyebrows surprised. "Me?" asked Draco.

Harry nodded as he continued working on the sandwiches, so he didn't have to look the other man in the eye. "Yeah, you. She really doesn't like you, as you know." Harry heard Draco give a small snort and suppressed a smile before continuing, "She doesn't think I should be your Auror partner. She is still stuck on how we acted during school. Yeah, I'll admit you were a prat- don't roll your eyes Draco, you know I'm right, but I was a bit of one as well, but she doesn't understand that. I forgave you, and you forgave me, that should be enough to her but apparently not." finished Harry almost bitterly. He just couldn't understand why his wife couldn't just let everything go. Of course, he knows about the rivalry between Weasleys and Malfoys, but that was years ago. Even Ron is sort of civilized to Draco when they pass each other in the Ministry's hallways.

Draco mulled over the information Harry told him and noticed the hint of bitterness in Harry's tone. He always knew the female Weasley still held a bitter spot for him in her heart, but he would've guessed after the war it would've died down a little. Guess he was wrong. Shrugging his shoulders, Draco told Harry, "Well, to tell you the truth, I have no idea what to say. I know a lot of people won't forgive for what I've done," he then glanced down at his left forearm which was covered by his dark blue dress shirt, "Hell, people still look at my son, and I like we are dirt at the bottom of their shoe, but you really shouldn't argue about it. Maybe she's right. Maybe you shouldn't be my partner, considering everything. I understand where she is coming from."

Harry put down the knife in his hand and turned to the blond who was still looking at his left arm. Harry didn't know what possessed him to do it, but there was no turning back now. Grabbing the older man's wrist, he tugged on his left arm and lifted the shirt to show the Dark Mark. It wasn't as black as it was when Voldermort had been alive, but it still stood out against the now startled blond's pale skin. "This," started Harry as he looked at the mark before looking into clouded grey eyes, "this mark doesn't define who you are. I know for a fact that you didn't want this, but you had no choice. None of us had a choice during the war. This mark is just another bad decision, but you are making up for it. I'm trying to get her and millions to understand that just because some people possess the Dark Mark doesn't mean they are evil. You were just a child thrust into a war. Sure you did bad things, who didn't? But that doesn't mean that you are nothing but this mark. You are your own person Draco, and if others like Ginny, can't see that, then fuck them."

Draco eyes widen a fraction during the hero's speech. He swallowed a little and licked his suddenly dry lips. Then he glanced down at the mark on his forearm that Harry was now frowning at and lightly tracing. Draco cleared his throat and looked back up where grey eyes connected with green and they just stared at each other for a minute. Harry then broke eye contact by glancing away as heat flushed to his cheeks. He let go of Draco's wrist and took a step back, not understanding what just transpired between them. Draco suddenly missed the heat from Harry's hand on his wrist before mentally shaking himself out of it as he put his sleeve back down. Letting a small smirk grace his face, he said teasingly but sincerely, "Wow Potter. Didn't know you cared so much. I'm honestly so flattered." He then put his hand over his heart and fluttered his eyelashes.

Harry blushes brighter as he punches the blond's shoulder with a grin. "You're such a prat."

Draco let out a laugh, grey eyes shining with mirth and other emotions. Harry looked at the man and couldn't help but join in on the laughter of the other, it was just so contagious. Once they got their laughter back under control, they eased back into a light conversation about anything that piqued their fancy. Soon enough, several sandwiches were finished. Harry picked up the platter that he placed the sandwiches on and placed them in the middle of the black table that was in front of a window, which showed the right side of the house. Draco went over to the small pantry that was near the door and grabbed a couple bags of chips that Scorpius pleaded for him to buy when they went to a muggle grocery store in America. Placing them next to the platter, he looked at the other man and asked, "Shall we go get the kids?"

The raven-haired nodded as the pair headed out the kitchen to one of Scorpius playrooms. Once they arrived at the white door with gold trimming, the blond opened the door, and the sight brought a smile to both men's faces. James was lying in the middle of the floor, poking a stuffed dragon who let out a puff of smoke every time the young boy touched its belly. Apparently, it doesn't enjoy the treatment. Albus and Scorpius were sitting next to each other in green bean bags sitting in the far right corner. They each had a book in their laps but were quietly talking to each other. Three feet from James was a small brown table with four colored chairs. Along the table were different colored crayons, glitter quills, markers, blank pieces of paper, and coloring books. Occupying the bright red chair was Lily, who was busy coloring in one of the coloring books with her tongue poked out between her lips as she concentrated. All four kids looked up once they heard a door and grinned at the two adults. 

"Is lunch ready, Father?" asked Scorpius.

Draco nodded before waving them over. All the kids got up and happily followed the adults to the kitchen. Once they got there, Harry said, "Go wash your hands in the sink before grabbing a plate." The kids nodded and washed their hands in the sink one at a time before drying them off, grabbing a plate that was on the counter next to the sink. James sat down on the left side of the table facing the window and grabbed a ham sandwich with mustard and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Lily sat next to her brother, grabbed a turkey sandwich with nothing on it, and a bag of original Lays. Across from her sat Albus, who chose a turkey sandwich with mayo and a bag of Cheetos. Scorpius sat next to Albus, in front of James, and picked up a ham sandwich with mayo and a bag of Fritos. Draco sat at one end of the table to the left of Scorpius and placed a plain ham sandwich on his plate and got a bag of Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips. Harry sat on the other end of the table with a turkey sandwich with mustard and a bag of Barbecue Lays. Once everyone settled down, they picked up a light conversation. Draco and James got into a discussion about the upcoming Quidditch matches. At the same time, Albus and Scorpius talked about dragons, and finally, Harry and Lily talked about all the pictures she colored for the day.

As they slowly finished lunch, the kids went back to the playroom while Draco and Harry stayed to wash the dishes. Even though Draco still doesn't like manual labor, he finds that he doesn't mind doing things like this with Harry. As the pair washed the dishes, they talked about their new case assigned to them a few days ago. It shouldn't take long to finish up the case, but the only thing they are dreading, like almost all Auror's, is the paperwork that is due once the case is solved. With the dishes cleaned, dried, and put up, Draco made them some tea before they moved to sit in one of the sitting rooms near the kitchen.

A few hours passed before the grandfather lock in the room chimed four o'clock. Harry looked up at the clock in surprise. "It's four o'clock already?"

Draco turned in his seat and looked at the clock. "Huh. Look like it is. Time flies when you're having fun," said the blond, turning to the dark-haired man with a grin.

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Was that an idiom? Never knew you knew them, considering they are quite muggle."

The taller man let out a small chuckle and replied, "Yes, it is quite muggle, but I do like some of their literature."

"You're just a ball of surprises, aren't you Malfoy," said Harry with a smile.

Draco winked and said, "You know it, Potter."

Laughing lightly, the shorter male got up and placed his empty teacup on the side table of the couch he was resting on. Stretching a little, he watched as Draco placed his teacup down as well. A house-elf, Minny, Harry think her name is, popped in to grab the cups before popping right back out. The Auror partners walked out of the room and back to the playroom. Harry opened the door and called out, "Alright, kids. It's time to go."

Groans of protest were heard throughout the room before the children trudged out the room and backed down to the foyer where the Potter family were going to Floo back home. "Why do we have to go now dad," whined James, "It's only four,"

"And that is exactly why we gotta go. Your mom is going to be at home by six for dinner,", replied Harry ruffling his eldest son's hair.

The Potter kids sighed a little wanting to stay more, but they kind of missed their mom. They were also getting a little peckish since they ate lunch a little early. Nodding at what their dad said they said their goodbyes with a promise of visiting again, The Potter family was finally off. Once they landed in their living room, Harry looked at his kids and said, "Alright. You three run along and play, but do not mention today's trip to your mom."

"What? Why?" questioned James furrowing his eyebrows.

"Cause your mother does not like Mister Malfoy, and if she found out that we went over to his house, she will not allow us to see Mister Malfoy and his son," replied Harry. He doesn't like making his kids lie, but you have to do what you have to do.

The kids frowned but nodded. They didn't enjoy lying to their mom, but they still wanted to see Mister Malfoy and Scorpius. James and Lily both walked out of the living room, heading to their respective bedrooms. Harry watched them go with a sigh before noticing his middle child was not with the other two. Harry glanced down at Albus, who was shifting from one foot to the next, looking down at his shoes, wringing his hands. 

Harry bent down to the level of his son and placed a comforting hand on the younger's shoulder. "What's up, Al?"

Albus looked at his dad and bit his lip. Bouncing around what he wanted to say in his head, he finally settled with, "Scorpius and I were talking while you and Mister Malfoy were making lunch..and..and he wanted to keep talking so we wanted to ask you guys if we could write letters to each other." The green-eyed boy looked back down at his shoes, feeling embarrassed over his request.

Harry smiled at his son and tapped his cheek to get him to look back at him. Once similar green eyes connected, Harry asked, "You think I'm going to say no, don't you?" When Albus gave a hesitant nod, Harry let out a small chuckle and said with a soft small, "Of course I'm not going to say no. I'm happy you and Scorpius have become friends. Just let me know when you write all your letters so I can send them off."

Albus looked at his dad in shock before a big grin broke out on his face. Tackling his dad in a giant hug, Albus squealed out, "Thank you, dad!" 

Harry laughed and hugged his happy son back. Once he let go, he watched as Albus took off running up the stairs towards his room. The raven-haired man shook his head before heading to the kitchen to get dinner started. Throughout the making of dinner, Harry thoughts drifted over to his moment with Draco while they, well he with Draco watching, fixed lunch. He wasn't sure why he exactly told Draco all those things, but Harry knew in his heart what he said was true. Draco was his own person, and he shouldn't let people assume something that he knows isn't true, but yet, people always do. Harry frowned as he took out the chicken from the freezer and unthawed it with a small heating charm. He needs to figure out a way for people to see Draco and other innocent Death Eaters, or children of Death Eaters, are just ordinary people that did some bad things during the war just like Harry himself has done. 'But for right now,' thought Harry as he took out some spices, 'I need to focus on not burning this chicken.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) My best friend did this yet again. I freaking love that girl she is so good at details while I am not. 
> 
> How was that? You guys got to see how Draco feels about Harry! Also a small amount on how Harry feels about his marriage but just you wait! Kudos and comments are greatly welcomed and appreciated.


End file.
